Version: 0.97-35
I get the same error when running grub-install; by looking in the traces
left in /tmp/grub*, I see it is confused because /boot is a (RAID1)
/dev/md1:
grub> dump (md1)/grub/stage1 /tmp/grub0mAaoH
Error 23: Error while parsing number
grub> quit
By contrast, "dump (hd0,4)/grub/stage1 /tmp/grub0mAaoH" works like a charm.